Next-Gen Productivity: The Power of AI PCs and the Windows 11 Refresh

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Courtney
Hello and welcome back to the Dell Technologies Forum podcast series, where ideas and innovation meet acceleration. In this series, we bring together Dell Technologies brightest minds and industry pioneers to help you navigate the ever evolving landscape of technology. I'm Courtney Hughes, and today we're talking about one of the most anticipated shifts in workplace computing. AI powered PCs and the Windows 11 refresh.

00:00:30:12 - 00:00:39:22
Courtney
With me is John Siegal, senior vice president of CSG and online marketing at Dell Technologies. John, thank you so much for joining us.

00:00:39:24 - 00:00:43:09
John
Thank you, Courtney. Excited to be back again. This is going to be fun.

00:00:43:11 - 00:00:57:10
Courtney
I'm excited to have you back too. Now, I want us to just start with the basics here. When people hear AI PC, what does that actually mean and how is it different from what's on employee's desks today?

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John
Look, that's a great question. And look an AI PC is different. It's a it's a next generation PC built with AI in mind. It's not just to run AI applications, but actually to run them faster and smarter and more efficiently. So, what's fascinating is that the PC architecture really hasn't gone through change in a long time from an architecture perspective, but now we're seeing that shift.

00:01:20:22 - 00:01:52:02
John
New AI accelerators, they're actually called Neural processing units, or NPUs. Those are what are being integrated now into PCs. And unlike traditional PCs, these devices are really built to run AI on the PC itself, on the device, which is really a game changer. So you've got this NPU, this neural processing unit working together with the other processors, the GPU and CPU to power things that couldn't be done before, like live caption translation directly on a Dell Copilot+ PC.

00:01:52:04 - 00:02:13:18
John
It's also super helpful if you're on a zoom call with a client who speaks another language. And it doesn't stop there, right? It also sports things like background blur, intelligent noise canceling, real time transcription. All of this can be run simultaneously without, and this is the key, without slowing your PC down. And there's going to be lots more applications coming by 2027.

00:02:13:18 - 00:02:30:24
John
About two thirds of these applications running a PC are going to take full advantage of the NPU. So a lot more is coming. But, you know, really imagine now trying to do all these, these things, all these different types of applications on a PC that you bought four years ago. And it's just, it wouldn't be smooth, it wouldn't be really possible.

00:02:30:24 - 00:02:44:08
John
So that's really the point. An AI PC isn't just about AI though. I will say that that's a bit of a misconception. It's it's really a much better performing PC, period. And it's really built to help us collaborate a lot better than we ever had before.

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Courtney
Yeah, the AI makes it smarter in the performance. Like totally makes it worth it, right?

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John
That's right. Exactly.

00:02:50:16 - 00:03:05:19
Courtney
So it's not just a technical upgrade, it's a redefinition of what a PC can offer. Now I want to bring Windows 11 into the picture. What's new in this refresh, especially when paired with AI PCs?

00:03:05:21 - 00:03:23:22
John
Sure. Yeah. Great question. So, the newest Windows 11 refresh and release that's coming out now is more than just an OS upgrade, by the way. It becomes a, a real productivity advantage for sure. So if you're an IT decision maker out there in the middle of a refresh decision here, what's new really boils down to three key things here.

00:03:23:24 - 00:03:47:01
John
First of all, you're going to get upgraded security. And we offer, from a Dell perspective, AI powered threat detection to really identify and neutralize malware before it even has a chance to cause any kind of damage at all. We also offer unique security features like safe BIOS, where we essentially guard against Bios level attacks, and we have safe ID to protect against any issues with user credentials.

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John
So, you know, we're really proud to be able to call our PCs the most secure and manageable AI PCs out there. But that's just an example of some of the things you can get from an upgraded security perspective. You're also going to get AI powered collaboration. And what that means is that your teams are going to really get improved call quality.

00:04:03:15 - 00:04:27:09
John
You know, with reduced distractions, all without compromising any kind of performance at all. So you're going to get features like voice focus, multi speaker noise suppression and lots of really cool video enhancements like auto framing and eye contact, teleprompters. All really designed to, to really improve that collaboration experience. And last but definitely not least, you're going to get much better battery life.

00:04:27:09 - 00:04:48:11
John
We're talking multi-day battery life. This is really what's resonating the most with the customers that I talked to. The NPU itself that I mentioned, it offloads a lot of these AI tasks that you're your other processes work less. And this is what really extends the battery life and the battery performance of these PCs, so. And they're not just running longer, they're going to run cooler and more smoothly as well.

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John
So really really ideal for mobile professionals out there on the go. As well as running high performance applications.

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Courtney
So I mean, it sounds like users are really going to be able to like feel the difference whether they're in the office or hybrid, like the benefits are built in, not just like bolted on.

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John
Yes. No, that’s definitely the case. Yeah. No, this is absolutely the case. This is an integrated experience for sure.

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Courtney
And this is super helpful, John. And so I want us to like, ground this with like, a real example. Can you share a quick story of a customer already using these devices.

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John
Yeah absolutely. So Deloitte the recently actually we hosted at Dell Tech World, they recently upgraded to Dell's AI PCs. And it wasn't just about getting new hardware itself. It was really a smart move for them to boost productivity, to really get better security and ultimately get their teams ready for AI development. So for them, it was like, imagine cutting their routine tasks in half and that's essentially what they did.

00:05:44:08 - 00:06:13:04
John
They made it a reality. They equipped their developers with AI PCs, and it's really been a game changer for them from a productivity perspective. These laptops themselves that they have, they're always on, and even offline they can run AI models tailored for the industries that they're supporting. And the result has been really fantastic. So again, as I mentioned, they reported that their developers are spending a lot less time on admin tasks, and they're spending a lot more time instead on actually developing applications, which is what they're designed to do.

00:06:13:06 - 00:06:25:19
John
And plus with, you know, on device AI, their data staying secure, they don't have to use the cloud. You don't have to worry about the latency issues there with using the cloud. And they just have an efficient experience. So it's really been a win-win for the deploy team.

00:06:25:21 - 00:06:39:19
Courtney
Thanks, John. I mean, that does paint a clear picture of AI features that are tangible for end users, but also like less IT hassle. What are some of, I guess you would say, the big outcomes customers seem to value the most?

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John
Like I'm going to keep coming back to you. I think battery life has been by far the biggest feature, benefit, if you will, of AI PCs to date in terms of what customers experience. Again, by just offloading a lot of tasks in the past that haven’t before, it's just smooth, it's longer. We're talking 2 or 3X longer battery life, which can be really a game changer for those of us that travel quite a bit, you know, not having to plug in and, and to get really good performance even when you're unplugged has been a huge benefit.

00:07:06:22 - 00:07:15:09
John
And look, also time savings with a lot of the cool applications that be run in certainly stronger security as well. So those are kind of the headlines I would say that we hear the most.

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Courtney
Yeah. And what's Dell Technologies doing to make this transition smoother for organizations.

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John
Yeah, well first, you know, we're providing you just the full lineup of AI pieces right now designed for regardless of the use case, the industry. And we also offer a full set of lifecycle services. So really helping customers deploy these PCs, help them migrate as well, easily and seamlessly to Windows 11. And help them manage them at scale, particularly for the larger companies we're working with.

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John
We have teams to really support them at every step along the way.

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Courtney
So it's not just about the hardware. I mean, it's really about making sure that the roll out is simple and supports their long term business goals, too.

00:07:54:21 - 00:07:59:10
John
You got it. Exactly. The technology, the services support, you know, it's all working together.

00:07:59:12 - 00:08:06:09
Courtney
And for IT and business leaders listening today, what's your advice as they consider a refresh.

00:08:06:11 - 00:08:25:23
John
Yeah. Look, we are, this isn't just any refresh, right? We're living in the in the age of AI as well, where developers now have their demands and they're busy building proof of concept applications. And look, many of these proof of concepts that they're building can hit a wall when it comes to deployment management. We've seen that. So and that's really where the Dell Pro AI studio steps in.

00:08:25:23 - 00:08:45:15
John
This is a free AI toolkit that we've come out with earlier this year. That really simplifies the ability for our customers to run AI on their devices itself. And, you know, take continue dev, for example. They created a new application that really a groundbreaking one, but they did face some I.T challenges due to how are they going to manage the applications themselves.

00:08:45:15 - 00:09:04:06
John
And with the Dell Pro AI studio, we provide a solution that really made their application manageable and allowed them to scale it and move beyond the proof of concept. We're finding that this is really a toolkit that's allowing us to help our customers go from step one, helping to build AI applications and actually deploy and seal them easily.

00:09:04:11 - 00:09:16:06
Courtney
Thanks, Sean. I mean, the way you just made it sound, it, it just hit me. It's like, you know, it's when you're talking about a refresh, it's not just about swapping out devices, right? It's more about really being proactive.

00:09:16:08 - 00:09:24:10
John
Exactly right. Exactly right. So this is this is not just any refresh at all. This is one where you can really refresh with the future in mind.

00:09:24:12 - 00:09:24:23
Courtney
Yeah.

00:09:24:24 - 00:09:32:19
John
A lot more is coming, a lot more is going to be demanded of PCs in next two to three to four years. And so it's important now to get that transition smooth.

00:09:32:22 - 00:09:58:19
Courtney
Yeah I mean so if I were to like recap, or to you know, AI PCs paired with Windows 11, they aren't just the next evolution in devices. They represent a leap in productivity, experience and security for the workplace. And Dell has the portfolio and services to help you navigate the refresh and create meaningful change for your teams. John, do you have any final thoughts or an invitation for our listeners?

00:09:58:21 - 00:10:16:16
John
Look, I would just say if you want to learn more, try them out, try out our latest AI PCs, reach out to your Dell representatives, check out some of the live demos and resources we have on our website as well. We're here to help at every stage. You know, we're excited to help our customers on this journey and take full advantage of what they're going to need for the future.

00:10:16:18 - 00:10:18:02
Courtney
Thank you so much, John.

00:10:18:08 - 00:10:18:22
John
Thank you.

00:10:19:01 - 00:10:41:01
Courtney
And thanks to you, our listeners and everyone tuning in. Don't forget to follow and share the podcast. For more on the technology shaping the way we work. And if today's episode got you thinking, join us at a Dell Technologies forum near you. Connect with peers, see these innovations live and take the conversation further. Find the nearest forum on our website.

00:10:41:03 - 00:10:43:13
Courtney
Thanks again for listening. We'll be back soon.